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It’s winter on the farm, perhaps the most wonderful time of the
year.
We can’t offer the hustle and bustle of the holidays. No crowds,
loud holiday music, advertisements over the intercom, not even the
not-so-convincing Santa taking gift requests. No worry, the
fireplace is hot and cheery, spiced cider awaits after a long walk,
homemade eggnog is offered after dinner and stockings are hung by
the fire.

Winter is a time to slow down, recoup, take stock, reconsider,
connect or just lie on the couch and stare at the fire. Whatever
your need, please join us this wonderful winter season.

At Snug Hollow Farm holiday shopping is a somewhat
different experience than most. I shop the hills and cedar
chests here at my Kentucky farm using natural treasures
and collected memorabilia to decorate for the winter holidays

Our old becomes new as I set out my mom’s china, antique fine
linens given to me as gifts, an eclectic selection of collected tea
sets and more handed down riches.

Snug Hollows 300 acres are as organic and eclectic as the
farmhouse’s architectural design. The 2 story structure of
logs, natural wood and glass, blends into nature with open
vistas to bring in the outside light with no boundaries.

It is no wonder we choose our holiday decorations from
natural forest treasures such as seed pods, berries,
grape vines, ferny green moss, and a variety of aromatic
evergreens. Pine wreaths with holly berries are fashioned for
each room. Fragrance is a subtle way of decorating, reminding
our guests of their childhood holidays.

A favorite decoration is our miniature moss covered
packages . Moss is gathered from the forest floor and secured to
varied size blocks of Styrofoam with floral pins. I tie
them up with bright shiny ribbons and stack them in the center of
the table surrounded by holly and candles.

The Christmas tree, a tall live cedar, sits on the front porch
outside wide living room windows . Covered with old fashioned
large colored lights, the tree glimmers when the wind blows and can
be seen from all the rooms.

Each room gets its own natural creations of handmade baskets
filled with cedar boughs, holly and interesting seed pods that we
may spray gold or silver metallic paint to add an extra sparkle.
Tables are adorned with a variety of holiday lace doilies,
quilt squares and table cloths.

As our holiday spirits rise, we take pleasure in the many
beautiful scenes that are set with memoires of the past as
well as gifts from our farm and forest. Here is wishing you a
memorable holiday.

A summer wedding is enchanting. Scott and Rheanan had just such
a wedding. Wildflowers, gentle breezes, intimate dinners, and a
gentle rain were all called up to make a very special occasion.

Nothing could describe it better than their entry in our
guestbook………

It began to rain in the distance as I kissed my bride in the
field beside the pond. We had just taken our vows as husband and
wife and as we walked down the special burlap isle runner my wife
had made for our wedding, it was hard to tell the difference
between the raindrops and the tears that streamed down our faces.
It was the perfect wedding for us, and the memories are ours to
cherish for the rest of our lives together.

Every moment in this cabin- the scent of the fresh cut flowers
in the windows, the patter of the rain as it hit the metal roof of
the big porch ,the trees on the hills in the distance all made the
experience better than we could have imagined. There is no better
place than Snug Hollow to start our lives together.

Hello from the holler, April is here with wildflowers, sunshine
and lots of gardening projects. We are finding trout lilies,
spurge, spring beauties, wild daffodils, and Jacob’s ladder along
the trail with more just waiting to burst open.

Warmer temperatures gave us a chance for coffee on the porch
this week. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners will soon follow.

Our garden is getting more raised beds this week and peas are
showing their little green faces. This is my favorite time in the
garden, so much promise.

The bridge is in on our new walking path on the north side of
the farm. This should add another hour to your walk every
morning!

The Snug Hollow Newsletter is out with a list of upcoming local
events.

“A garden is a valued asset in mountain culture
where we grow it, eat it, dry it, or can it. That
simple.”

My garden is a celebration of the “giving” spirit of Snug Hollow
Farm. Long growing seasons, bountiful harvests and restful fallow
times are true gifts of this land. What an inspiration to find
myself on my knees in the soil, planting or weeding only to be
interrupted by the long howl of a coyote, the shrill call of a
swooping red tailed hawk, or a surprise rain storm. Moments like
these bring a stillness to feel and listen to the world around me.
Misty spring mornings, summer evenings and fall days call me to the
garden to “enjoy an old friend.”

My first gardening experience was Mom’s garden and it was truly
“her garden.” We were allowed to enter but this was her world. My
mother was an avid follower of Rodale’s Organic Gardening and her
garden was a showpiece in our rural town. Small and compact, it was
chocked full of a variety of vegetables that supplied our family
and neighbors with fresh food all summer.

After moving to the farm, I owned and operated a Farm Service
Center. This experience and studying horticulture at a local
university gave me some knowledge of soils, vegetable varieties and
their hardiness in this area. Both whetted my appetite to get my
hands dirty and to begin my own organic garden. Soon I did just
that!

Through my years as chief gardener at Snug Hollow, the garden
has played different roles in my life: friend, teacher, business
partner, nourishment of mind, body, spirit, and more.

Gardening organically has been an adventure that has led me down
many roads. In the beginning, new information came quickly and
Mom’s suggestions were inspiring, but in the end, I have found
experience to be my best teacher. It’s the overnight miracle of
gardening that keeps me loving it so. The first turning of the
beds, dropping the tiny seeds into the black, cavernous earth,
hidden from life-sustaining sunlight, always tests my faith in
Mother Nature.

The garden quickly became a business opportunity as my
entrepreneurial spirit led me to start a CSA (Community Supported
Agriculture). This time spent in my garden was the most creative of
my life. Certifying the farm as organic, selecting and planting the
crops and lavishing them with love and sweat equity paid off.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an agreement
between the grower and the consumer. The consumer says, “We value
our food, how it’s grown and who grows it.” The grower and the
consumer take the growing risks together. Everyone is a winner,
with good food,
friendships and an understanding of where the food is
grown.